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As I do every season, I kick off my coverage of a new cycle of The Voice by making sure that you’ve seen all my artist updates that have been posted during the off-season. Here’s what you may have missed.

One of my favorite people from season three of The Voice was Terry McDermott. Terry’s been so busy, however, that we hadn’t spoken since he’d left the show – until now. So it’s my pleasure to bring you the latest and greatest from our fantastic Mr. McDermott as he and his band Lotus Crush prepare to bring out their new album. And yes, Terry is still as awesome as ever.

One of the artists who definitely got away on The Voice was Team Cee Lo’s Todd Kessler from season three. Thankfully, Todd and his band The New Folk have stayed busy, and with their newest single out via Bandcamp I got to sit down with Todd last week and catch up with him. Click on over to my The Voice Examiner page to read the interview.

Remember my recent interview with Team Adam’s Nicole Nelson from Season 3? Well, I now have the pleasure of premiering the new Dwight & Nicole music video on my The Voice Examiner page. Click the link below to give a watch to the cute 1950’s inspired video for “Smile.”

Remember a while back when I talked to Team Christina’s Paulina Cerrilla about her film String Theory? Well, the movie’s done now and is making its world premiere this Friday. Paulina also filled me in on the ton of other things she has going on as she continues to expand her career, not only in music and acting, but lots of other avenues, too. Click over to Examiner to check out everything she has to say.

We all fell in love with Nicole Nelson when she was part of Team Adam in season 3 of NBC’s The Voice, but as with all the artists on that series, that’s just one part of her story. Nicole and her partner Dwight Ritcher just released their album Shine On last week, and she was kind enough to sit down with BFTV to discuss the record and how the Dwight & Nicole sound compares to what we heard on The Voice.

“I don’t think there’s any difference at all,” she told us. “I don’t know how to be anything other than myself, one hundred percent. My aim is always to be myself and always a better version of myself. I’ve grown from what I’ve learned from the show, and from meeting and meshing with so many incredible people.”

Nicole turned all four coaches’ chairs during her blind audition with her cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” which is also one of the tracks that appears on Shine On. We asked her if including the song that introduced her to American TV audiences was a coincidence or on purpose. “It was a conscious decision. I always wanted to record that song and I would have either way,” she explained. “For me, singing a 60 second version on the show to a pre-recorded track, it was a great opportunity. The song actually became a hit on iTunes.

“But I just sort of felt that song, it needs to be alive and be breathing and I wanted to record it with my group. We just did it live, we did two takes and just took our favorite version, which was the second take. There’s a magic in the live thing that’s different from singing to a track that somebody recorded a week earlier. It can breathe and it has our own stamp on it. I was able to relax and let the feeling. It had that energy to it and that’s what we want it.”

You can actually hear the difference in Dwight & Nicole’s version of “Hallelujah,” which we’ve included below so you can check it out for yourself.

So what about the rest of the record? What can those audiences, who may not have looked past the TV show, expect from hearing Dwight & Nicole? “What I love about the album is that it touches on multiple layers of feeling and expression,” Nicole said. “What I feel like has happened in popular music is that things get boiled down and fine-tuned in order to sell them easily to a market. Which makes sense as a business. But what I miss about old records that I love is that they dive deeper than that and tell a 360 degree story. All of these inflections of personality come through.”

The duo is now playing several live shows on the East Coast in support of the record (all of which you can find information about on their website), and Nicole told us she’s looking forward to more. “Absolutely look for touring,” she said. “We’re talking with a few different booking agencies.”

Is there anyone she’d love to share the stage with? “Bonnie Raitt has always been a dream of mine. That’s something I would love to do.”

Of course, appearing on The Voice has raised her profile. “It absolutely still resonates,” Nicole told us. “I think one of the reasons why is because it was actually just over a year ago since they started doubling up seasons. It was like a year and a half ago that I was on the show.”

But that’s just one component to Nicole Nelson as an artist, and to the Dwight & Nicole story. They’ve shared the stage with the likes of Dr. Maya Angelou, B.B. King, Norah Jones, and The Avett Brothers. They’ve played Fenway Park and Symphony Hall. Like many artists who’ve appeared on The Voice, they had many things to be proud of before reality TV became part of their lives, and now with Shine On, they have plenty to be proud of after. For Nicole’s part, she has absolutely no regrets.

“The path that I’ve been on is exactly the right one for me,” Nicole reflected. “[The Voice] was an absolute perfect experience. And when it was time to go home, I left graciously. And I’m making music with the man that I love. I’m just so lucky.”

Tonight begins Season 6 of NBC’s The Voice, but there have been plenty of happenings with past artists – and the coaches – since Season 5 wrapped in December. Before you tune in to the new cycle, read on to find out what you may have missed over the last three months.

The major news is that coach Cee Lo Green announced last week that he will not return for Season 7, marking his second departure from his big red chair. Cee Lo’s best finish on The Voice was having the runner-up (Juliet Simms, season 2) – which Usher has already matched (Michelle Chamuel, season 4). No word yet on who will replace him, whether it’s Usher or anyone else.

In happier coach-related news, Blake Shelton has announced he’ll hit the road for a 2014 version of his Ten Times Crazier Tour; information can be found on his website (blakeshelton.com). And Adam Levine and his Season 4 artist Judith Hill performed on the same stage when both participated in CBS’s February 9 special The Beatles: The Night That Changed America. You can hear some words from Adam and see a clip of Maroon 5’s performance in the below video.

A few The Voice artists have turned out new music since December. Season 1 finalist Vicci Martinez has a new release, Otra Cancion, available via Bandcamp. Season 4’s Melanie Martinez debuted her new single, “Dollhouse,” on iTunes. According to iTunes, Season 5 winner Tessanne Chin will release her record in March.

We’ve also caught up with several former contestants to find out what they’re up to recently. You can check out our interviews with Season 3 finalist Nicholas David, Team Cee Lo’s Kat Robichaud from Season 4, and Team Adam’s Caroline Glaser from Season 4. Kat’s recent music video, as well as a music video from Season 2’s Pip, can be found in our January news roundup.

The Voice also won the People’s Choice Award for Favorite Competition TV Show in January, over America’s Got Talent, Dancing With The Stars, MasterChef and the now-cancelled The X Factor.

Lastly, if you missed the various announcements over the last few weeks, we now know the full advisor lineup for Season 6. They are Aloe Blacc (Team Adam, after his appearance performing opposite Team Adam’s Will Champlin in Season 5), The Band Perry (Team Blake), Jill Scott (Team Usher) and Miranda Lambert (Team Shakira, her second go-around after advising Team Blake in Season 2). You’ll see the advisors in a few weeks, when Season 6 heads to its battle rounds.